Shot on goal: Get to know RHS soccer playersGet to know Russellville soccer players Katie Winberry (left) and Seth Grace: Grace plays outside-middle and is the son of Danny and Lori Grace. Seth plans to study mechanical engineering and has played soccer since age 4. His favorite memory from high school is winning the Class 6A state title. His biggest lesson from high school soccer is to "stay on the post on corner kicks." "Seth has improved tremendously over his four years of high schoo...

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Courier Sports StaffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Cyclones top Sylvan Hills, prepare for GreenwoodLITTLE ROCK — Russellville head baseball coach Matt Long was glad to get a win in the Cyclones' final game of the Central Arkansas Invite. Russellville defeated Sylvan Hills 12-2 on Saturday at Lamar Porter Field. “That game was kind of a flashback from last year when we got it going,” he said. “Our seniors hit the ball well, several juniors showed promise, and we even had a couple sophomores who stepped up. It was nice to leave the tournament...

Webb leads by exampleATKINS — Alex Webb doesn’t have a lot of extra time. Besides leading the Atkins Lady Red Devils softball team from her spot as pitcher, the senior is involved in over 20 extra curricular clubs, sports and activities. She has earned more than 23 awards for both her academic and athletic achievements. Webb began pitching when she was playing travel ball in the 10-and-under division and continued through high school. Webb finished the 2014 season...

Cyclones defeat El Dorado 11-6LITTLE ROCK — The Russellville Cyclones got their first win of the season on Thursday with an 11-6 win over the El Dorado Wildcats in the Central Arkansas Invite. Russellville head coach Matt Long said the pressure to get a win was there, although it wasn't too large a burden — yet. "I don’t want to downplay it," he said. "You have to win one before you can win 20. We got the monkey off our back, for sure. I wouldn’t say it was a heavy monkey,...

Cyclones fall 3-2 to CabotLITTLE ROCK — The Russellville Cyclones fell 3-2 to the Cabot Panthers in the first round of the Central Arkansas Invite on Tuesday at Lamar Porter Field — not an ideal outcome, but Cyclones head coach Matt Long said he is just happy to be playing baseball. Russellville has managed to complete three of its scheduled seven games this season due to poor weather conditions. “It stinks to lose, but this game answered some questions for us,” Long s...

McCrotty twins gear up for fourth Boot GameDARDANELLE — The Pottsville Apaches and Dardanelle Sand Lizards baseball clubs will clash for the fourth annual Boot Game on April 11 at Merritt Park. It’s a heated rivalry between 4A-4 Conference foes and competitive twin head coaches Wes and Will McCrotty. Wes coaches the Pottsville Apaches, while Will helms the Dardanelle Sand Lizards. The Boot Game is a fundraiser for the Boot Campaign, a charity that helps raise money for veterans who ret...

Lady Rebels stay positive despite lossCOAL HILL — The Johnson County Westside Lady Rebels fell short of their state championship goals after falling 92-59 to Marmaduke on March 11 in the semifinals of the Class 2A State Playoffs, but they aren’t complaining. There was still plenty to be proud of, despite falling short in the final four. “We are conference champs, district champs, regional champs and made it to the final four in state. We are very proud of these kids for their amaz...

Three earn $500 scholarshipsThree $500 dollar scholarships were recently awarded at the recent River Valley Longbeards Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation banquet. The banquet was held at the Boys and Girls Club of Russellville and is the primary fundraiser to promote hunting heritage for area families and to help improve habitat for the wild turkey. Scholarship recipients, pictured with chapter president Richard Pierce, are (from left): Joseph Cathey, Pierce,...

RHS track opens season in BryantBRYANT — The Russellville Cyclones and Lady Cyclones track teams opened their season — finally — on Thursday at the Hornet Relays. Russellville head coach Charlie Goodman said the teams are usually on their third meet at this point in the season, but winter weather and rains gummed up the early portion of the season. “Weather has affected everyone, I think,” he said. “But it also hurts your practices, too. We’ve got nowhere to practice if it’s...

Dover win streak ends in Fort SmithDOVER — Pirates head baseball coach Jason McGhee frequently tells his team, “It isn’t how you do at the beginning of the year, it’s how well you do at the end of the year that counts.” McGhee referred to the one-and-done atmosphere of the district, regional and state tournaments, where the Pirates feel they could compete well this season. Six games into the season, and Dover has only one loss under its belt — to Class 7A Fort Smith Southside. ...

Apaches baffle Waldron, 10-0POTTSVILLE — Blane Boyd’s walkoff single to score Cavin Reed in the fifth inning of the Pottsville Apaches’ 10-0 win over the Waldron Bulldogs broke a two-game losing skid for the Apaches. Pottsville (4-2) head coach Wes McCrotty said it was exactly what his team needed going into Spring Break. “They did a very good job bouncing back from a losing streak,” he said. “We lost to Dover in the bottom of the seventh and Ozark in extra innings, but ...

Cyclones net victory over rival ConwayThe Russellville Cyclones soccer team opened 7A/6A-Central Conference action with a 1-0 win over rival Conway on Thursday at Cyclone Stadium. Jahaziel Martinez scored in the first half on an assist by Landon Short. “Conway is a very physical, very good team, and it seems we open the conference season with them every year,” Russellville (5-1, 1-0 7A/6A-Central Conference) head coach Jared Fuller said. “We matched them on physicality, but I thin...

Lady Red Devils blank LamarATKINS — Alex Webb struckout 11, gave up one hit and one walk during the Atkins Lady Red Devils’ 6-0 win over the Lamar Lady Warriors on Thursday. Atkins had no defensive errors during the victory. Offensively, Kaylen Martin was 3-for-4 with two runs and two steals. Payton Harvill was 1-for-3 with two runs, a walk and a steal. Webb was 2-for-4 with a double. Sydney Webb was 1-for-3 with a double and one run. Bailey Thomas was 2-for-3 with two-...

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Courier Sports StaffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Lady Whirlwinds win Hornet RelaysBRYANT — The Russellville Junior High School Lady Whirlwinds won the Bryant Junior High Hornet Relays on Tuesday with a team score of 101.5, while the Whirlwinds placed third with several top finishers across the board. For the Lady Whirlwinds, Tamara Rhode won the 100-Meter Dash (13.54), the 200-Meter Dash (28.26) and ran the 400-Meter Dash in 1:04.44. Grace Sykes placed fourth in the 1600-Meter Run (6:22.84), and Selena Vazquez placed sixth ...

Lady Red Devils open victorious, defeat RussellvilleATKINS — The Lady Red Devils softball team opened its 2015 season Monday with a 11-0 win at Charleston and a 3-1 win over the Russellville Lady Cyclones on Tuesday. Senior Alex Webb recorded her first no-hitter of the year, as she struck out nine Charleston batters, walked two and one batter reached on an error. Offensively, she went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI. Atkins had 19 hits: Bailey Thomas, 4-for-4, 3 runs, 1 steal; Payton Harvil...

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Cyclones fall to Van Buren 5-2VAN BUREN — The Russellville Cyclones baseball team dropped a 5-2 decision to the Van Buren Pointers on Tuesday. The Cyclones were within 3-2 until the fourth inning, when the Pointers scored two runs to take control of the game. Russellville struck quickly in the first inning as Mark Moyer hit a two-run home run to give the Cyclones a 2-0 lead. Garrett Freeman drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch before Moyer hit his two-run blast. Van Buren began the ...

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Pirates walk-off to beat PottsvilleDOVER — The Dover Pirates won their third-consecutive game courtesy of a walk-off finish Tuesday and defeated the Pottsville Apaches 3-2 at J.P. Lovelady Park. The Pirates trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh before scoring two runs. Dover loaded the bases with no outs thanks to a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch to begin the inning. After a strikeout, a sacrifice fly tied the game at 2-2. Ty Morphis then hit a dribbler that was ...

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Courier Sports StaffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Lady Cyclones begin the climbThe Russellville Lady Cyclones were in the business of surprising people this season. After winning only one conference game in 2013 and two in 2014, the Lady Cyclones went 7-5 and finished third in the 7A/6A-Central Conference. Russellville head coach Steve Wiedower said he liked it that way. “That’s one of the things we talked about,” he said. “We wanted to be a team people would recognize at the end of the year and say, ‘Where did they come...

Cyclones lay foundation for basketball successPolarity marked the 2015 Russellville Cyclones basketball program. It was a year head coach Codey Mann anticipated that Russellville could potentially make a state run. He said early in the season he expected them to be competing for the 7A/6A-Central Conference title. Somehow, Mann both got what he expected and the exact opposite. The Cyclones finished their season at .500 (14-14), and reached the semifinals of the Class 6A State Playoffs. Ma...